Leeds Rhinos v Wakefield Trinity: Coach Rohan Smith calls for big improvement in his Headingley debut

Smith’s first game in charge ended in a 23-8 loss at Salford Red Devils five days ago, which dropped Rhinos a place to 10th in Betfred Super League.

Smith’s men face a huge four-pointer at home to Wakefield Trinity this evening, but the Australian insisted the setback last weekend has not altered his opinion of what needs to be done.

“I knew it was a huge job before I was offered it,” Smith said.

“It has always been a huge job for anyone who has been in the seat.

“There’s big expectations and I don’t think anything has changed there.

“It’s different for any coach that comes in, the state of the club’s not in the same position so understanding where it’s at from a playing point of view and staff point of view is something I have been working on.”

Despite this season’s poor form, Smith is confident Rhinos have a talented squad who are capable of climbing the Super League ladder, when they work together.

“There’s some great young players coming through and a lot of experience in the group as well,” he said.

“Given the turbulence of the season so far, with so many injuries and suspensions, there has been a lack of cohesion, with a lot of different combinations.

“We are on to our third different coach and there needs to be time for some stability and growth, individually and collectively.

“I think the collective is the key - individual skill sets are important, but only when they are connected with their teammates really well.

“That’s a big focus for us.”

Trinity are second from bottom, but will leapfrog Rhinos if they end their six-game losing run.

Smith admitted: “Every win at this stage is certainly going to be very valuable.

“I am aware of that, for sure, but certainly process has been very much the order of the day in our prep’ this week.

He added: “We need to be a lot better on our edge defence.

“We had some real deficiencies there [last week], particularly in the opening passages of the game.

“And probably overall, we need a bit of patience on the end of our attack.

“We over-played and probably missed a few chances which could have made the game a lot closer.”

Of what he expects from Trinity, Smith predicted: “They will fire some bullets at us.

“They have got really dangerous outside-backs and some players who are a bit out of the ordinary in the way they do things, like [David] Fifita and some of the way their halves go about things.

“We expect to see some of that and our job is to minimise the opportunities they get from broken play.”

Smith’s debut as a home coach at Headingley comes in Rhinos’ last game there for two months and he reckons the occasion will be “very special”.

He said: “It is a privilege to be a coach at this club, not a lot of people get to do it.

“I am sure I’ll savour it, but it is about the players and the club, certainly not about me.

“I have been to Headingley lots of times as a very young kid, when my father was a coach over here.

“I was assistant-coach at London for a couple of years during the Tony Smith era at Leeds and was on the wrong end of a few hidings, so it’ll be nice to be on the other side of it.”